Bud and Bloom

In these strange days, we tend to forget to see the beauty around us. But it’s there….even on a rainy, gray morning. The pink blossoms on our dogwood tree help me remember. Remind me to take heart and take delight. Thank you, Father, for buds and blooms. The forms of these flowersare the intentional designsof…

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Still Reinventing Wendy

This month’s Live Like It Matters Challenge comes from a dear friend, named Wendy. We’ve been through life stuff together, prayed together, and planned ministry events together. She finally knows what she wants to be when she grows up, and she wants to help us figure it out, too. Still Reinventing Wendy by Wendy Payne…

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What Now, Giant Church Inc?

My friend wanted to see my face when I explained why we left Giant Church Inc. Why our youngest daughter quit the internship when she’d worked so hard. Why I quit the leadership program so close to graduation and why I couldn’t finish teaching the small group we were in together. It didn’t make sense…

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Won’t Back Down

This week’s Monday School is inspired by a story Jesus told in Luke 18:1-8. The story is called The Parable of the Persistent Widow. First, we’re introduced to the judge. Jesus described him as one who had no regard for God or people and the judge admitted it. In other words, the judge was selfish…

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When Narcissism Comes To Church: A Book Review

In 2017, my family and I left the church we loved and served for eight years. We weren’t prepared for the whirlwind of emotions we felt afterward. We were simultaneously confused, relieved, angry, fearful, sad, and lost.  In an effort to understand what happened to me and my family, I researched, read stories, and listened…

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Giant Church Inc: Dazed and Confused

Several strangers came over to our table to eat breakfast with us. They weren’t strangers to my brother-in-law. He knew them from the previous year’s conference, and by the end of our breakfast, they were no longer strangers to me and my sister either. These new friends were an editor, one of the conference keynote…

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